Heroes Never Die
by CrystalMoonlightII
Summary: A lone warrior stands face to face with his nemesis. In mere moments, the base will overload and collapse. However, a man of justice never retreats from the call of destiny. Only Charlie Nash has the power to stop Bison once and for all. This is his final stand against the evil of Shadaloo. (Written in anticipation of Charlie's return to Street Fighter. An alternate Alpha 3 Ending)


**Each and every one of us has a character in Street fighter that we like the most. Charlie Nash is my personal favorite beside Chun-Li. With that in mind, I wanted to write something in Charlie's honor. After all, I know I'm not the only one looking forward to his return in the upcoming game.**

 **As the title suggests, this is a short retelling of Charlie's Alpha III Max ending. I wanted to show what happened within the Shadaloo base in the final enjoy, and I would recommend listening to his Street Fighter V theme while reading this!  
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 **Heroes Never Die**

"I will stop you, no matter what it costs me. As long as I'm standing... you will go on to threaten the stability of the world no longer."

Charlie adjusted his glasses and brought his fists to bare. "In name of my comrades and the country I serve, your reign of terror, and Shadaloo… both end today."

Sirens rang out across the vast expanse of the complex. Great quakes of colossal force shook the building by its very foundations. The structure would not hold much longer. Charlie knew it too, and yet he refused to turn and run from the challenge ahead.

"Warning," chimed a metallic voice through the alarm system, "Psycho Drive… critical. Overload in thirty seconds and counting."

Bison rose from the flames of the collapsing fortress and let a sinister chuckle escape. A smile most gleefully sadistic overtook his expression as he threw aside his cape. "You will die here today… Captain Charlie Nash. One such as yourself could not hope to stop me."

Petty threats meant nothing. Charlie smiled, channelled all of the energy he had into the centre of his being, and let out a smug little chuckle. "Perhaps I can't stop you, but even if that is the case… I can still give Guile enough time to reach safety."

"YOU FOOL!" Bison roared with thunderous laughter as he descended to the ground - the full extent of his power shattering the concrete into shards. He looked to his blond-haired adversary and folded his arms - towering tall. "You willingly sacrifice your life for comradery and idealism. My ambition knows no bounds, and I am certainly more than powerful enough to crush you."

"Then prove it to me, Bison." Charlie stepped forward amidst the rising flames and prepared himself for the cold hand of inevitability. Power pulsed through his fists with every second, every grain of time that slid by. "Talk is cheap…. Be all you can be, scumbag."

"For mocking me," Bison cracked his knuckles and frowned bitterly, "I will make your demise an exquisite one."

With a second mighty snarl, the leader of Shadaloo slammed his feet into the ground. The sheer strength at which he did so caused the floor to crack under the pressure. Pure power, a burning flame-like aura coursed through his body. It rose higher and higher until it enveloped his entire physical form.

Bison leapt forward in a spiralling whirlwind, his supernatural force burning white-hot, "PHYCHO CRUSHER!"

Charlie cracked his knuckles and gave one final smile. "My name… shall never be extinguished. I have the pride of a nation behind me... AND I WILL NOT FALL UNLESS I TAKE YOU WITH ME!"

Distorted waves of violet energy pulsed from the captain's body with incredible force. His muscular physique stood charged with strength and determination. In a grunt of excretion his feet left the ground, sweeping into the air.

"Impossible!" With wide eyes the leader of Shadaloo looked back to see Charlie moving closer. Massive tremors and fires shook the entire building by now. Massive chunks of the walls blew out, while pieces of the ceiling simply caved in. "You managed to evade me."

Adjusting his glasses one last time, Charlie, came swooping in like a cannonball and smashed Bison square in the chest - jamming in the side of his boot. "Summersault Justice!"

Alas, in a penultimate showing of strength, the marine sent his most loathsome foe reeling into the air with a flurry of violent summersaulting kicks. "It's over, Bison. It's over for the both of us…."

The overlord of Shadaloo came crashing to the ground with a mighty 'thump'. For several moments, he did not move a single muscle.

However, as the flames erupted all around, he slowly staggered back to his feet, and let a violent laugh of mocking escape from his twisted lips. "No… Captain. The only story to come to an end today… will be yours. The concepts you fight for are nothing more than falsehoods and lies…."

Charlie looked back with a sombre expression as crimson embers spewed forth from every direction. Bison drew nearer, but he did not retreat in the face of the danger. Instead, he pushed the glasses up to the bridge of his nose, and let out a scoff of defiance. His eyes, for the slightest moment, glimmered with fierce emotion.

In his heart, he still felt hope, "No, Bison," Nash uttered with resolve. "You're wrong. Even though I will fall today… the dream that I hold in my heart can never die. Freedom... and justice… they will live on forever…."

A tremor of extreme magnitude rocked what little remained of the surrounding structure to its core. Finally, in a single but mighty quake, the entire building collapsed in on itself. A bright light enveloped absolutely everything. "One day... your tainted empire will come crashing down upon you."

"Overload in three… two... one…."

The wind blew violently in this sinister place. Guile could feel it, there was just something not right about it. His eyes fixated upon his wrist watch, he counted down the final moments. He looked onward sadly as the last of the structure was vaporized in a bright cleansing light. "He didn't make it in time..."

For the longest time Guile kept his arms resting at his sides. That was, until he finally raised a hand in salute to his comrade. "No matter what… we will see each other again, Charlie. That, I promise you."

Even in this darkest of times he still held hope in his heart for the survival of his friend. After all, Charlie Nash was one of the best of the best.

As choppers flew overhead, Guile turned his back upon the ruins of the facility behind, and began to walk away, "No matter the odds they face... true heroes never die."

 **The End**

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 **Thank you very much for taking the time to read this. I hope you enjoyed it. Please feel free to leave me some feedback if you like. I am always happy to hear from my readers. Your opinions are valuable to me and they help me grow into a better writer. Please keep on supporting Street Fighter, and I hope the new game turns out to be awesome for us all!**


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